In 1973, a young man began teaching music while he was still a senior at Christ the King High School. In 1983, he would be inducted into his alma mater’s hall of fame, and in March of 1995 he was named the “Best Solo Musician of Queens.”

He met his wife while studying music, and she joined him in teaching at their music school, which recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. They have a wall filled with pictures and memories of students they have taught, events they have played, and generations of families they have touched. They are Joe and Jeannette Fuocco and they own the Fuocco Music Center on Myrtle Avenue in Glendale.

They are a husband-and-wife team who both began playing music very early in their childhood; Joe when he was 4, and Jeannette when she was 7. They share a passion for teaching others not only to learn music, but to appreciate it as well. They teach several band instruments and Joe also provides vocal training.

They believe the secret of their success is in the familiarity they breed with their students, and the family-style manners they share with those who study with them. While teaching is important to both of them, they also understand the needs of those in their care. They also know to keep things fun and interesting, and to focus on the student-teacher connection.

They reach out to teenagers by allowing them to bring in popular music on their iPods so that they can learn to play the tunes themselves. The couple also holds small concerts in a room they designed for that purpose in the shop. They feel their students react well to smaller venues and go so far as to schedule multiple sittings in one day to allow many students the opportunity to demonstrate their talent.

The couple also believes strongly in giving back to the community and offer their services at many events, including the popular tree lighting ceremony on Myrtle Avenue, Glendale Community Day, and a recently added charity event in memory of Mr. Fuocco’s mother: the Marge Fuocco Memorial Concert, the proceeds of which go to the Honeysuckle Foundation for Children with Cancer.

Future endeavors include a music scholarship to be provided to music student at St. Mathias, which would allow students to study at the music center for free.

They share many moments of achievement, including their 30-year anniversary which brought back many students who could not forget their teachers, a state proclamation, and grabbing the attention of guitar great Les Paul while playing live on WNEW.

They feel strongly that music enriches your life, and Mr. Fuocco offers these words of wisdom, “If you really love something, and you want to do it, work at it, and you can do it.”